Tookitaki , a Singapore-based regulatory technology firm, has launched in the Philippines, partnering with Paymongo , a payments gateway company. Tookitaki, a Singapore-based regulatory technology firm, has launched in the Philippines, partnering with Paymongo, a payments gateway company.

Tookitaki provides end-to-end financial crime solutions to financial institutions (FIs) all over the world. In the ASEAN region, some of the largest banks and fintech companies rely on Tookitaki to transform their anti-money laundering (AML) compliance needs. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported that the Philippine financial system is at ‘medium risk’ of being used for money laundering in 2021.

While preventive measures have been placed to curb risk of dirty money, the country remains in the gray list of international watchdogs on money laundering and terror financing Financial Action Task Force (FATF) as of June 2022. Ahead of its local launch, Tookitaki secured partnerships with the PayMongo to help the fintech industry of the country reduce risk and design a robust AML program, aligning with the compliance norms set out by the local regulator. Tookitaki’s Anti-Money Laundering Suite Tookitaki’s AML solution can help FIs in the Philippine to strengthen their risk coverage and mitigate risks in the world of regulatory compliance.

Tookitaki’s Anti-Money Laundering Suite (AMLS) became popular with the region’s digital banks and fintechs because of its ‘Hub’ and ‘Spoke’ model for transaction monitoring. The ‘Hub’ is a collection of latest intelligence on money laundering patterns sourced from AML expert network globally in a privacy-preserved manner. The ‘Spoke’ represents a simulation setup that allows local companies to download and test relevant patterns from the Hub, detect illicit money trails, and stay protected.

The ‘Spoke’ is installed within the environment of a financial institution without letting the test data leave the network, therefore providing utmost security. Built on BigData, AMLS extensively uses machine learning (ML) for its transaction monitoring, smart screening, and customer risk scoring solutions. The alerts from all solutions are unified in an interactive Case Manager that offers companies with alert disposition and regulatory report filing.

The money laundering phenomenon The volume of digital banking and ecommerce transactions is rising exponentially, with global cashless payment volumes expected to increase by more than 80% from 2020 to 2025 and total cross-border payments reaching over USD 156 trillion. Unfortunately, this flow of money crisscrossing the globe provides cover for money laundering and the Philippines is no exception. As more Filipino consumers become part of the banking ecosystem and financial crime becomes more sophisticated, the FIs in the region need to look beyond traditional and siloed AML systems to keep pace with growing business and compliance requirements.

Because of its rising economy and strategic position along major trafficking routes, the Philippines is particularly vulnerable to money laundering and terrorism funding. Increased risk is also associated with recent development in the online gaming industry. Furthermore, the vast number of money transfers from Filipinos living abroad adds to the AML authorities' tracking responsibility.

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